3 Homeschool Activities for 1.5yrs

As I've mentioned here, I am still trying to get my act together when it comes
to M's homeschooling program. I started yet again a few weeks ago when it
dawned on me that M had hit the 1.5yr mark. So far so good.

3 Homeschool Activities we've been doing lately:

1. Read Books
I now make it a point to read a few books to M first thing in the morning. We
usually read what's available but I try to buy one new book every two weeks.
We then rotate the books to prevent boredom from creeping in.

I know some people like to read to their children at night. Great too! It just
doesn't work as well for us. Reading books at night is more of a quieting
down before bedtime activity for us.

2. Read Playcards (Glenn Doman)
We're back to our playcards and M seems to enjoy reading them. I really need
to create new cards because we're almost done with the current set. We still
don't watch tv so an e-version is not yet in the plans.

I just realized that I never got to properly explaining what these playcards are
all about. I'll try to talk about them more in one of my next posts.

3. Play Play Play
I would love to say color or write but in reality, M doesn't seem to enjoy these
activities yet. It's usually a case of me doing the coloring with him playing beside
me. We've already gone through an entire coloring book and he still hasn't
warmed up to it yet. Looks like I'll have to try again next time.

M really enjoys playing at this point. Thankfully, Kuya Z is more than willing to
share his toys. The challenge is for Mama to create fun + learning play for M.

Other activities I've got lined up:
- Tot Trays: I am specially interested in the trays that are focused on teaching
  practical life skills. I've begun gathering materials and we'll be working on
  these soon.
- Math Playcards (Glenn Doman): Hmmm, I have to create them first!
- Singapore Math: I still have to figure out when and how to teach the concepts
  to M. If I'm in town this October 8, I'll be seeing you all at the Singapore Math
  Learning Festival at the AIM.
- More more more... I've been so blessed to have come across so much material
  online and offline. The possibilities are endless! It's now are matter of choosing
  activities that will help M the most.

Whaaat??? Flash Cards at 1.5 yrs?!?

The energy of a 1.5yr old is just mind boggling! Thankfully, there are times
in the day when M himself decides that it's time to slow down the pace a bit.
It's hard to miss, he will suddenly grab his books then sit on the floor to read.

I make it a point to read to M first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
Any other time is free for all. Apparently, Mama's words are sometimes just
too slow for the pace that he likes.

I recently bought M a pack of the Dora the Explorer Preschool Flash Cards.
Sorry to burst your bubble, I too would love to be the perfect crafty mom.
But I'm not, I buy when there's no time and/or no energy to make.  The grand
plan was to use the flash cards for a future memory game. Of course, I couldn't
resist, I opened the pack and M and I now look at the shape and color cards
every so often. Later on, we'll rotate the cards and then look at the number cards.

Okay, I can imagine a few of you saying: "Whaaat? Flash cards at his age?!?
Poor M!" But I beg to disagree. He doesn't see them as flash cards in the literal
sense. I do believe that he considers the cards as just one of the stuff thats
around to play with and explore.

"How sure are you that these flash cards are not causing M psychological nor
emotional trauma blah blah blah blah blah???"
Well, his favorite shape is not circle, nor triangle…  But Baaackpaaack!
See, M is very much a kid who's having some fun :)

Thank you!

Thank you Teacher Weena for this heart warming message!
And a big thank you to everyone for your love and support!

How to Conquer Overwhelm

The cheque is in the bank. The kid is tucked in. The hubby is prepared for our big 

move. And yet I can't shake off the feeling that something is amiss. Why why why?

3 Things Im doing to conquer the Big Overwhelm:

1. Revisiting my Goals and Priorities.

Im blessed because I can still afford to be a WAHM. However, being a WAHM

doesn't mean I have all the time in the world to do the stuff that I want to do. 

Yes I've managed to get rid of the travel time but I'm just as busy as when I had the 

corporate job. 

One activity I've had to rethink is homeschooling. My homeschooling attempts

have been on and off. It seems more realistic to do it less frequently but more

consistently for a longer period of time. Meaning, I should ditch the grand plan

of homeschooling everyday because 3x a week is really more sustainable. Then

when we do our big move; M will probably attend school; I will just focus on

providing quality after school activities. This makes more sense than me worrying

that M isn't getting the education that he needs.

2. Embracing my humanity.

I am not a superwoman. And it's okay that I am not. So some things are not

working out in the way that I'd want them to. No use kicking myself on things

that are clearly unrealistic. I can accept that certain things don't fit. I can adjust. 

I can create new plans. I can do other things to achieve the same end goals.

3. Recharging my spirituality.

I definitely need to get my prayer time back into gear. I need God to enlighten me

on what needs doing and what needs pruning. I need Him to provide me with

courage and strength for the challenges up ahead. And I need Him to teach me

to appreciate the blessings and opportunities that I'm overlooking. Oh yeah, only 

He can assure me that things will work out.

I guess I'm like most women; trying hard to be a superwoman when all I really 

need to be is myself.

Image courtesy of daedalust

Giant Foam Blocks

M occasionally plays with his folding sleeping mat. He pushes it around, stomps

on it and hides behind it. I can only imagine what he'd be doing if he had his hands 

on these giant foam blocks! Unfortunately, they're not readily available here.

I've been toying with the idea of heading over to the Uratex Factory and having 

something similar done. However, that would translate to me owning another 

thing to sell, leave behind or ship out (depending on how attached we get to it). 

And, that's my dilemma. Oh well, maybe next time.

Images courtesy of Google Images

McDo Philippines is giving away FREE COFFEE

McDonald's Philippines is giving away FREE COFFEE this August 8 - 12
from 4:00am to 10:30am. I'll be honest, free coffee is not a compelling enough
reason for me to head over to the nearest McDonald's store (5 minutes away
via car or jeep). However, I am a sucker for Sausage McMuffin. Hmmm,
I sense a forthcoming trip to McDo...

Click on the McDo Philippines FB Page for the details.


Image courtesy of McDo Philippines